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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · hand · bat · jam · deal · rash · fork · chip

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chest — a box
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. chip — for betting
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. hand — in cards
  8. chip — to eat
  9. deal — to handle
  10. bat — the animal
  11. rash — a series
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. chest — of your body
  15. hand — help
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. fork — in a road
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. bat — in an idiom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com